The Hindu : Congress, TDP square off over the farm sector

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 30, 2004

National

National - Elections 2004

Congress, TDP square off over the farm sector

The Andhra Pradesh farmer takes centre stage with both the TDP and the Congress gearing up to woo the rural voter, says W. Chandrakanth.

With both the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Congress gearing up to woo the rural voter, Andhra Pradesh is all set for an heated campaign debate over the performance of the agricultural and irrigation sectors in the State.

A major campaign theme of the Congress party in Andhra Pradesh will be the neglect of the two sectors by the Telugu Desam. And, despite the gloss it is trying to put on its performance, the TDP faces an uphill task convincing the rural voters of its commitment to their upliftment.

The Telugu Desam manifesto, which was released recently, promises an investment of Rs. 60,000 crore in order to boost the rural economy; moreover, it also talks about lifting 30 lakh rural and 10 lakh urban families above the poverty line.

However, the Opposition is hoping that the rural electorate will not believe the TDP's claims, going by the party's past record. The Left parties are planning to make the neglect of these core sectors a key issue in the election campaign.

It is an established fact that the extent of cultivable land fell by 19 lakh acres between 1996 and 2003. The Economic Survey of the State (2002-2003) points out that the extent of land under irrigation, which was 1.06 crore acres during 1996-97, had come down to 87.35 lakh acres now.

The Telugu Desam, however, argues that it has stabilised 18 lakh acres of agricultural land in its nine years of rule and that it has developed irrigation potential for another 12.37 lakh acres. The Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu, says that the groundwork done by the TDP requires time to bear fruit, and that he will definitely deliver on his promises to the rural voter in his next term.

Studies by Government agencies have pegged the extent of agricultural land dependent on irrigation wells and bore wells at 40 lakh acres. It was 20.21 lakh acres between 1984-1985. This increase is the result of the slab system of tariffs adopted by the NTR Government for power consumption by the agricultural sector. The benefits of the slab system, however, were soon lost; and the farmer, who was paying Rs.50 per hp, is now coughing up Rs. 625 for the same under the Naidu Government. Power supply too has dwindled from 14 hours to seven hours, and that too in two phases.

The non-availability of power at a single stretch means reduced irrigation potential as the second wetting covers only as much as the first round. Farmers in the upland areas, and especially in the Telangana region, are a distressed lot because of this.

The TDP manifesto does not make any promises on nine-hour quality power supply; there is also no word on curbing the spiralling power tariffs. But the party claims that its move to hike crop loans from a meagre Rs. 1,729 crore (in 1994-95) to Rs. 9,668 crore in its latest manifesto is indicative of its concern for poor farmers. But its claim is undermined by the fact that the banks had released only Rs. 6,332 crore in 2002-2003 against a target of Rs. 8,600 crore.

The Government's claims are the subject of heated dispute in the State. There is a feeling among farmers that they have been let down, says the Andhra Pradesh Rythu Sangam; the failure of Government agencies like the Food Corporation of India (FCI), MARKFED and Civil Supplies Corporation to come to their rescue even in the face of continuing drought has only enhanced that feeling, it argues.

The Congress party, on its part, promises free power to farmers and to `single-bulb households' (aimed at farm labourers and artisans dependent on farming). It says such a promise would translate to Rs. 300 crore per year and will not be difficult to implement given that the present Government was wasting about Rs. 360 crore on publicity every year to refurbish the image of Mr. Naidu.

This argument has a ready rebuttal from the TDP, which wants to know if the Congress is implementing the same scheme in the States under its control now. Another point that will be bitterly contested is the TDP's promise to set up a price stabilisation fund of Rs. 200 crore if it is re-elected to power. The TDP Government made a similar promise in 1998-99, which is yet to materialise.

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